BASC50064 - African American Classics
Course Description
Although issues of race and slavery have long been a prominent subject of American writing, the classic works of African-American authors are often unknown beyond the African-American community. This course will examine a selection of such classics in order to understand the works themselves, the canon of which they form a part and their relationship to comparable Euro-American works. Texts will include a selection of works by Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, and others. Before the first class, please watch Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing (preferably in a single sitting and without doing any prior reading or research about the film; i.e. please watch it “cold” in its entirety).Course Outline
Required Texts: REVISED
1) Walker, David. Appeal (1830). Hill and Wang / 978-0809015818.
2) Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845). Dover / 978-0486284996.
3) Washington, Booker T. Up From Slavery (1901). Dover / 978-0486287386.
4) DuBois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk (1903). Dover / 978-0486280417.
5) Larsen, Nella. Passing (1929). Penguin / 978-0142437278.
6) Wright, Richard. Native Son (1940). Harper Perennial / 978-0060929800.
7) Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun (1958). Anchor / 978-0679755333.
8) Baldwin, James. Notes of a Native Son (1955). Beacon / 978-0807006238.
9) Poetry Handouts
M) Lee, Spike. Do the Right Thing (1989, 120 min.)
Notes
Taking a Graham School Remote Course: You will receive an invitation to join Canvas about a week before the course begins. Please accept the invitation and create a log-in for Canvas using your email as the user name and create a password. Then go to the Dashboard and click on your course. Next click on Zoom Professional Education and you will see the link to "Join" your classroom. Canvas houses the course information including the course syllabus, announcements, and discussions. You will not be able to participate in your online class unless you accept the Canvas invitation and set up your account.
For help visit, https://grahamschool.uchicago.edu/academic-programs/online/learning-resources/liberal-arts to find step by step instructions and to sign up for a Student Training Session.